As a gardener, it’s important to know what plants you want to keep around, and which ones are weeds. Weeds can be dangerous things to a garden, they steal, kill and destroy. Weeds steal water and nutrients from plants, ultimately killing them off and destroying the garden. As people, we have a similar power. It is possible to hurt people with little more than your words. I don’t just mean hurting feelings. Lives can be uprooted and forever changed.
I know this from personal experience. I won’t bore you with all the petty details, but myself and my daughter have been put in danger because of something someone said. You see, I’ve had some issues with someone in my neighborhood because they felt empowered to approach me in my own yard thinking they had certain information about my family. Let me assure you, my little girl’s safety is the highest priority to me and I have taken every possible precaution against this near constant threat. My point is someone is actively trying to rob my girl of her peace because they think they know something about me.
But that’s just one experience, right? One family affected by a bad egg in a permanently bad mood. The power of the tongue is vastly underrated. Think back into your own life. Have you ever changed anything about your life because of something someone said? Anything from clothing to hobbies or even what you read. I have, a number of times. I have suppressed parts of my personality- killing off parts of myself because I was allowed to be bullied. It has taken me years to start reclaiming those parts, and it is a constant uphill battle.
I’ll be deeply honest with you. When I was still in high school, I had a best friend with younger brothers. One of those brothers was trying to discipline the youngest sibling. He agreed with my friend about table manners. Without thinking I told him that no one needed his help. The look on his face is something that will haunt me forever. I watched his smile drop instantly. My words did not sink into him. My words sank him. What I said was a filter from how I was brought up, let the adults in the room handle the situation and never risk undermining those adults by speaking up. To be even more honest, that wasn’t what I was taught by my mom, but a teacher. I’ll save that story for another day. I said his face will forever haunt me, but my greatest fear is my words will forever haunt him. I may have killed his outspokenness.
“The axe always forgets. The tree always remembers.” Paulo Coelho said this and it could not be more true. On a larger scale, Proverbs 18:21 tells us “The tongue has the power of life and death.” We are powerful creatures, us humans. Our actions and our words carry a tremendous weight, a great power. Please, dear reader, be careful with the seeds you sow.
Peace to you,
Willow R
Owner, Rooted in my Strength
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